MUST READ: Skin Care Routine For That Flawless Skin

Hi guys,trust u all had a great week. Today’s post is gonna be quite different from all the other posts on the blog. I’ve had a lot of people ask me several questions like “Oh! how come your skin is so clear and bright?, or what do you apply on your skin? So i’m gonna share one of my skin care routine using vitamin C.

I’m sure most of you might be like “what’s she talking about?”,isn’t it supposed to be a drug or something?. Apart from being a drug in form of tablets, liquid form or powdered form that we just take as a daily supplement, trust me its got a whole lot of other amazing properties and uses which I’m gonna enlighten you more about in the paragraphs coming up.

First of all, vitamin C is one of the most abundant nutrients in nature. As we all know, its useful in promoting health and fighting infections but its also taken the lead as one of the most important treatment against skin aging and darkening. I’m not gonna go into too much of medical chit chat about vitamin C because not everyone might understand, so i’ll just go straight to the point as well as state reasons why it’s good for your skin and a little about how it works for skin lightening.

Vitamin C acts as an antioxidant and it fights free radicals that cause skin aging and darkening. It also acts as a mild exfoliate and is essential for collagen synthesis, as collagen is a vital part of the skin that gives it elasticity and makes it look young and firm. It’s also useful for dark circles under eyes as well as controlling brown spots caused by acne and anywhere you have brown patches.

By eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, you can increase vitamin C levels in your body. Our body doesn’t produce vitamin C, so we have to either take vitamin supplements or foods that contain vitamin C. The recommended daily dosage differs with age and gender. Adult males need at least 90mg/day while women need 75mg/day. Pregnant and breastfeeding females need higher levels. The maximum dosage is 2000mg/day, although other sources claim that the ideal intake of vitamin C is 1000 to 3000mg/day. Try as much as possible not to exceed the stated dose because even though vitamin C is essential, over dose of it carries its own side effects.

I would advice that you divide your vitamin C doses into two doses so the body can absorb more because the truth is the body can only absorb a certain amount of vitamin C as the body flushes out the excess. At the same time, try as much as possible to avoid smoking and limit your intake of caffeine and alcohol as this decreases the amount of vitamin C absorbed by the body. Also make time for relaxation and make sure to get enough sleep everyday as stress lowers vitamin C in the body.

According to my research, oral vitamin C isn’t enough for skin lightening as the body has a certain level it can accommodate in the body, therefore to get all of it’s good effects on the skin, you need topical vitamin C. Topical vitamin C is more effective than the oral form in terms of skin care.

A diet rich in vitamin C combined with topical application is the best way to get all of these benefits.

This brings us back to the question….”how can you make your own vitamin C serum as a form of topical application?” I’ll expantiate more on the ingredients you’ll be needing to achieve this below.

• Vitamin C powder preferably with the strength 5000mg ( available in health stores or your local pharmacy stores )
• Cool water or any essential oil ( olive oil, bio oil e.t.c ).
• Vitamin E beauty capsules.
• Any dark glass container ( amber bottle ).

With these ingredients, you can either make a serum or you can mix with a small portion of your body lotion.

How to make your own vitamin C serum

1. Add a small amount of the vitamin C powder( a teaspoon ) to some cool water or essential oil.
2. Shake this mixture well.
3. Dab this mixture over the areas you want to treat with cotton makeup pads.
4. Keep the remaining mixture refrigerated and use within 2 weeks at most. If you’re not able to refrigerate the serum, you can keep it in a tightly closed bottle in a cool, dark place like in a drawer or a cupboard (when you notice a distinctive yellow color, it’s time to discard it and make a fresh serum to use. Because of this, it’s best to make it in small batches in small bottles preferably ).
5. Alternatively, you can mix the vitamin C serum with a cream that has few chemicals and perfumes as possible, e.g vaseline or olay products work well too or a natural Shea butter cream such as St Ives, to maintain the integrity of the vitamin C.

NOTE:

When the cream turns yellow, it means its time to discard it, not because its harmful. It just gets ineffective as the yellowness indicates that the vitamin C has oxidized.

Tips on using vitamin C based creams:

1. Its best to mix a lesser amount of vitamin C powder in creams intended for facial use as the skin on the face is more sensitive than the skin on the rest of your body.
2. Try to avoid sun exposure after application i.e. its best to use it in the evenings probably before you go to bed and be sure to use sunscreen.
3. Use it as a face and or/ body lotion at least 4 times a week if not everyday for best results.You’ll start to see results from 4-8weeks. In any skin care routine, you would need to exercise some patience as you won’t get results overnight.
4. If you buy your moisturizer in a pump bottle, its easier to dispense. Save an empty pump bottle and refill with the vitamin C serum and a little moisturizing lotion that can last for about 1-2 weeks.
5. Although, it’s generally safe for long term use, topical vitamin C can also have some side effects. This includes stinging, dryness, and redness of skin. Start with a lower concentration when mixing.

You can get vitamin C based lotions or creams out there but i believe most of them are ineffective and expensive, so why not put efforts into making your own authentic vitamin C based serums or creams which can be done right in your home. I hope you all have learn t something beneficial from today’s post and i would love to get your feed backs and comments and also if you have any questions, feel free to ask by clicking on the comment icon below, thanks. Do have a wonderful week ahead. Ciao..